Sports Illustrated magazine

Object Details

depicted

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem

Description

Sports Illustrated magazine is the Sportsman of the Year issue, December 1985. The cover is white with a color illustration of that years honoree, basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabaar.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was selected to 19 NBA All-Star games, and finished his 20 year professional career with the most points in NBA history. A six time NBA MVP, Jabbar was the preeminent big man of his era. Skilled and fluid in the post, he is still readily identified with his signature move, the sky hook.

Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor in 1947. He dominated high school basketball in his native New York City before enrolling at the University of California in Los Angles (UCLA) in 1966. Under the tutelage of legendary Coach John Wooden, the 7"2 Alcindor led the Bruins to three consecutive NCAA titles (1967-1969) and was named National college player of the year twice.

In 1970, Alcindor was drafted by the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. He quickly established himself as one of the league's best players, taking home that year's rookie of the year honors. That summer he changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in accordance with his conversion to Islam. The next season, the Bucks paired the young center with Oscar Robertson to win the NBA title. It was the first of six rings Abdul-Jabbar amassed over the course of his career, the rest coming after a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1975.

Championship success with Los Angeles came after the 1979 addition of charismatic point guard Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Led by Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar, the "Showtime" Lakers played a popular brand of up-tempo, fast-break basketball that reached the NBA finals an amazing 8 times during the 1980s, acquiring titles in ‘80, ‘82 '85,'87,'88.

Away from the court, Abdul-Jabbar is a best-selling author, penning well-received books about such subjects as the African-American 761st Tank Battalion and the Harlem Renaissance. Abdul-Jabbar has also appeared as an actor in feature films, notably in the 1979 Bruce Lee vehicle "Game of Death," and the 1980 comedy "Airplane!"

Location

Currently not on view

1985

ID Number

2013.3001.081

nonaccession number

2013.3001

catalog number

2013.3001.081

Object Name

magazine, sports

Physical Description

paper (overall material)

Measurements

overall: 11 in x 8 1/4 in x 1/4 in; 27.94 cm x 20.955 cm x .635 cm

See more items in

Culture and the Arts: Sport and Leisure

National Museum of American History

web subject

Sports

Journalism

Museums and Galleries

Record ID

nmah_1450806

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ad-f0b7-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa